Wednesday, May 11, 2016

A wildfire of epic
proportions has now driven almost all 80,000 residents from the oilfields’
capital of Fort McMurray, Alberta as much of the community has gone up in
flames.

Spawned by high
winds, scorching heat and low humidity, the fire changed course and took aim at
the city, causing residents to flee in a mass exodus that included huge convoys
by road and some evacuations by air.

Police and the
military were escorting a procession of 1,500 vehicles carrying evacuees
stranded at oilfield camps north of the city to safer ground.

Heavy smoke was
hampering their travel that was continuing this weekend to the Edmonton area, about
270 miles to the south.

“The beast is still
up, it’s surrounding the city and we’re here doing our very best for you,”
regional fire chief Darby Allen said in assessing the situation.

Thousands of houses
and buildings have been destroyed and Premier Rachel Notley said she cannot
speculate on when it might be safe for residents to return to the city.

The Red Cross has raised
$11 million and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his government will match the
donations to help those displaced.

The Alberta
government is also matching donations up to $2 million.

“We will weather
this storm together and together we will rebuild,” Trudeau said.

Monday, May 2, 2016

Canada, the largest
supplier of oil to the United States, still faces grim predictions for a
financial comeback in its hard-hit oil and gas sector.

“These are dire
times for the Canadian oilfield service, supply and manufacturing sector, with
no indicators for positive change in the near future,” said Mark Salkeld, ceo
of the Petroleum Services Association of Canada.

Due to low crude
oil prices, the association predicts drilling activity will be 36-percent lower
than what it anticipated six months ago.

The Conference
Board of Canada said the country’s oil and gas industry should remain in the red
for a second year but pre-tax losses shouldn’t be as severe with a return to
profitability next year.

The board predicts
oil producers will collectively lose more than $3 billion this year compared
with a record $7 billion loss last year.

As well, the
economic think tank said the natural gas extraction industry should lose $1
billion this year, down from $1.1-billion in 2015.